1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to surgical fastener-applying apparatuses and, more specifically, to surgical fastener-applying apparatuses that employ sequential firing.
2. Background of Related Art
Surgical fastener-applying apparatuses used for applying a plurality of fasteners (e.g., surgical staples) through compressed living tissue are well known in the art. These surgical fastener-applying apparatuses are commonly employed for closing tissue or organs prior to transaction or resection, for occluding organs in thoracic and abdominal procedures, and for fastening tissue in anastomoses.
Typically, such surgical fastener-applying apparatuses include an end effector assembly, which includes an anvil assembly and a cartridge assembly for supporting a plurality of surgical fasteners, an approximation mechanism for approximating the anvil and cartridge assemblies, and a firing mechanism for ejecting the surgical fasteners from the cartridge assembly.
In certain types of surgical instruments, such as traverse anastomoses stapling instruments, the surgical fasteners are typically configured to deploy simultaneously from the cartridge from which they are supported. Since the surgical fasteners are fired and deployed simultaneously, a significant amount of force is required by a user to effectively operate a handle of the surgical fastener-applying apparatus.